YouSaid · the spoken record

Henriquez Ureña

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS HENRIQUEZ UREÑA

lines on the record: 25
first: 1949-09-24
most recent: 1951-09-24
sittings or episodes: 2
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“I shall therefore try, albeit haltingly, to express in the grand tongue of Renan and Chateaubriand my hope that the glorious spirit of France may be a source of inspiration to us in the accomplishment of our work. France, above all countries, has, throughout its history, professed and maintained with ardent faith the cult of beauty, the mind and liberty.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“I feel sure, in short, that acceptable solutions can be found to avoid delay in the approval and adoption of the draft, 134. Thug, the United Nations is continuing without pause the constructive work on which it has embarked. If our efforts could achieve as much in the political as in the technical field, the success of the United Nations would be decisive and complete. There is, however, no cause to be faint-hearted. We must cherish the hope that, though the road be rough and difficult, we shall, for the good of humanity, succeed in ensuring that the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter finally prevail throughout the world. 135. (Translated from French) I do not wish to conclude without paying tribute to our host, immortal France.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“In other eases, for example, the draft declaration on rights and duties of States, objections have already been raised regarding the inclusion of certain principles which, being new, cannot be regarded as being fully incorporated in positive law and which, in the view of certain States Members, are a counsel of perfection in the development of law, although they do not believe that they have yet reached the point when they should be accepted as rules of law. The Latin American nations have already embodied many of these principles in positive form within the framework of the Organization of American States and will not, therefore, have any objection to them, but they may seek means of finding common ground with those Members which regard them only as a counsel of perfection.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“The Fifth Committee will as usual have to consider the administrative and financial work of the Organization; and, lastly, the Sixth Committee has to consider various problems of special importance in the development of law, beginning with the report of the International Law Commission. In some cases, because the subjects under consideration are new, it is important that States Members Should have more time to study them, which is the reason why the General Committee has recommended that the discussion of the draft code of offences against peace and security of mankind should be postponed until the seventh session.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“The work carried on, with increasing efficiency, by the Trusteeship Council has produced a number of important items for discussion by the Fourth Committee, including the rural economic development of the Trust Territories, the abolition of corporal punishment and the development of administrative unions affecting Trust Territories; to these items we must add the consideration of information from Non-Self-Governing Territories. Because of their substance, two items which involve points of fundamental legal importance are also to be dealt with by the Fourth Committee: the question of South-West Africa and the question of the full participation of Italy in the work of the Trusteeship Council, 133.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“Insecurity and disagreement hang like threatening shadows over the work to which we have set our hands. Even so, the United Nations presses on with its task of bettering the political structure of the world and ensuring the well-being of all nations. 130. In the economic field, an indication of the paramount importance of our work, is given by the most comprehensive and important of the items to be considered by the Second Committee: the economic development of under-developed countries, under three heads, financing, land reform and technical assistance. 131. Similarly, in the social field, efforts are being continued to improve the position of refugees and stateless persons and to give the latter a status, while progress has also been made with the draft international covenant on human rights. 132.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“Take, for instance, the case of Libya; suppose that, after the General Assembly has decided to set up an independent State there, when the time comes to put that decision into effect and, as a natural consequence of its fulfillment, to admit Libya to the United Nations, the new nation, created by the will of the Assembly, were prevented from taking its place among us for lack of a necessary vote in the Security Council. That situation has already arisen in the case of the Republic of Korea which was established by the United Nations and which has been the scene of the outbreak of the most serious conflict with which the United Nations has so far been faced. The case of Korea is such; that we can safely say that it is putting to the test the integrity and resolution which our Organization must display if it is to survive. 129.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“I do not propose at this point to discuss, the privileges enjoyed by the permanent members of the Security Council because of their greater responsibility for the destiny of mankind, but I consider it excessive, in the matter of the admission of new members, that they should? have the power, by the mere casting of a single negative vote, to prevent the entry of other States into the United Nations. 128. Such a course might result in inconsistent and illogical decisions.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“Clearly, if the adoption of such methods is to be wholly efficacious, it is vital that we should achieve that effective universality to which the United Nations aspires; another item on our agenda, that relating to the admission of new members, tends towards that end. 127. If all peace-loving nations which observe the principles of the Charter are to be admitted to the United Nations, it is unreasonable that, in the absence of any evidence that they have departed from those principles, the door of the United Nations should be shut against them by the arbitrary mechanism which is known as the “rule of unanimity” but which should rather be termed the “ privilege of the veto ”.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“Is it possible that we should return to barbarism and that the spiritual forces which constitute the dignity of the human mind should be unavailing to prevent it, as though, stripping ourselves of the attributes of civilization, which has nurtured and fostered the noble collective ideals of mankind, we were to return to grope our way blindly through the dark forests of instinct. 125. No! We abjure the appalling nightmare. War should now be a moral impossibility and all men must unite in their resolve to condemn it as such. And the best means of securing that end and avoiding war is the study and adoption of effective methods for the maintenance of international peace and security. 126.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“I cannot and will not believe that there is any nation which would dare to take upon itself the responsibility for unleashing a new world struggle which would shatter the achievements of civilization and our dearest and most fervent hopes of achieving a better future for mankind. 124. Is it possible that once again, wherever we turn our eyes, we shall see suffering, terror and desolation? Is it possible that once again death and destruction will rain from the skies, that tanks will ravage the fields made fertile by the farmer’s patient toil, that whole cities will disappear in a day as though by an evil spell, and that with them thousands of non-combatants will perish sacrificed to homicidal mania, old men awaiting a peaceful death in prayer or meditation, innocent children just awakening with a smile to the delights of life?”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“At earlier sessions, as we set to work, we were hopeful of reaching practical results in the political sphere and it was only as the days went by that the deep divergence of views became apparent, postponing the adoption of a concerted plan for peace and security. Our initial feeling of optimism was replaced by discouragement and scepticism. 123. I trust that on this occasion the reverse will be the case; I trust that the initial disappointment will very soon be replaced by renewed hope and faith. Or are we to believe the prophets who say that a new war is imminent?”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“We should also be on the way to finding practical and useful solutions for problems like those connected with the threats to the political independence and territorial integrity of certain Members of this world Organization. If we attain agreement on methods, we shall have gone halfway towards putting them into effect. 121. I therefore attach the utmost importance to the item arising out of the report of the Collective Measures Committee, for, if we were to succeed in taking a unanimous decision on it we should be able, sooner or later, to solve all the other political problems before us. 122. Nevertheless, the prospect before us is not encouraging. From the very first meeting of this session the sharp division of opinion on political problems has made itself felt.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“In the list of items proposed for the agenda of the present session of the General Assembly, one on which the Collective Measures Committee has made a very thorough report is particularly outstanding: “ Methods which might be used to maintain and strengthen international peace and security in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter ”. 120. The inclusion of this item holds out ground for hope, because all, or almost all, the political items in the agenda might yield results, could we but attain unanimity of opinion and resolve upon the adoption of such methods. Questions like the international control of atomic energy or the reduction and limitation of armaments could be solved provided we first reach general agreement on the manner in which peace is to be maintained and strengthened.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“Henriquez Ureña concluded by saying that his enumeration of some of the undertakings and achievements of the United Nations was sufficient to indicate the great importance of the Organization’s work and efforts, and justified the view that it represented the last and supreme hope of mankind.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“The United Nations had effectively contributed to the improvement of the legal and social status of women. The General Assembly, by its resolution 217 (III) of 10 December 1948, had promulgated the first International Bill of Human Rights. By its resolution 260 A (III) of 11 December 1948 it had approved the Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, a forward step of surpassing importance in the international field. The General Assembly at its current session was to study another significant draft of vast social and juridical import, namely, the declaration of the rights and duties of States. 173. Mr.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“However, apart from the fact that the Organization had, in more than one instance, achieved complete success in the political field and had settled more than one dispute which might have endangered world peace, the technical work it had accomplished, social as well as economic, juridical as well as cultural, was of inestimable value to humanity. 172. Mr. Henriquez Ureña reviewed the achievements of the United Nations in those fields: its action to promote the development of under-developed territories and technical assistance; the establishment of regional economic Commissions for Europe, Asia, the Far East and Latin America; the establishment of vast and very useful services, such as the international statistical services; the holding of the United Nations Scientific Conference on the Conservation and Utilization of Natural Resources.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“It likewise believed that practical solutions would soon be found for the problem of the Palestine refugees, to whose assistance the Government of the Dominican Republic had already contributed from its resources just as it had contributed, and in no small measure, to other humanitarian undertakings of the United Nations, such as the International Children's Emergency Fund. 171. The activity of the United Nations in the economic and social fields had certainly been, and continued to be, very effective, although pessimists did not realize the full extent of the enormous work the Organization was accomplishing, since they considered only the difficulties constantly arising in connexion with political questions.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“In respect to Korea, the Government of the Dominican Republic had recognized its existence as an independent nation. The delegation of the Dominican Republic considered that for the time being the United Nations Commission on Korea, established for the purpose of co-operating in the solution of Korean problems, and in the first place the problem of the country’s unification, should not be dissolved. 170. With regard to the questions that still awaited settlement in Palestine, the delegation of the Dominican Republic expressed the firm belief that the protection of the Holy Places and free access thereto would be fully guaranteed in the Assembly by means of a definitive agreement on the subject.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“The frontier incidents, however painful they might have been, were not the essence of the problem, but only one of its consequences. The Assembly must go to the very heart of the question, and that could be done if all the parties concerned accepted the mediation of the United Nations with the greatest good will in an effort to find an amicable solution. 168. A similar procedure had been successfully employed in dealing with the Indonesian question which, although very different in substance and origin, offered a fine example of what could be accomplished by a spirit of good will. The parties concerned were discussing their problems under the aegis of the United Nations and there was a good prospect that an agreement could be reached on principles which might well be a prelude to a final solution. 169.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“On the altar of that great idea Byron had laid down his life at Missolonghi, and the soul of humanity had been filled with wonder when the people of Greece, like David before Goliath, had risen up to engage in unrelenting war with the invading hosts of fascism and nazism, as if from the depths of the past the martial and harmonious strains of the Trytaean lyre had re-echoed in their ears. 167. Fortunately, it would appear that the problem of Greece was approaching solution. There was ground for hope that normal, good-neighbourly relations would soon be re-established between Greece and adjacent nations in spite of the mutual accusations arising from regrettable incidents, the responsibility for which each of the contending countries ascribed to the other.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“The defence of those principles assumed a special importance in the case of Greece, a country which occupied so high a place in the history of civilization through the far-reaching influence of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Archimedes, Aeschylus and Anacreon, and the incomparable marble beauty of the mutilated Venus of Melos or the headless Victory of Samothrace. 166. Was it unusual then if peoples whose culture had been nourished by the life-giving stream of Hellenic thought were united in their ardent desire to support and defend Greece when her independence was at stake?”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“The Dominican Republic maintained an equally firm attitude with regard to any problem involving respect for the independence and sovereignty of a State. For that reason it could not remain indifferent to another question which had already been debated in past sessions of the United Nations General Assembly, namely, the threat to the political independence and territorial integrity of Greece. Not only was the sacred principle of independence attacked by such threats but also another principle, that of non-intervention, which the American Republics had embodied in many treaties and declarations. 165.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“While the Assembly agenda covered a vast number of topics, the political items, which occasioned the great differences, were not as numerous as in the past; moreover, they had all been discussed previously. 163. The question of the disposal of the former Italian colonies was of primary importance. Mr. Henriquez Ureña hoped the Assembly would find an equitable and workable solution of the problem during that session; the position of the Dominican Republic thereon had already been clearly indicated and it would remain unchanged. Any solution designed to ensure the preparation of those former colonies for self-government or independence, through an orderly process carried out under the supervision of the United Nations, would have the support of the delegation of the Dominican Republic. 164.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“Mr. HENRIQUEZ UREÑA said that if ever the United Nations General Assembly had commenced its work in an atmosphere propitious to fruitful mutual collaboration it was on that occasion, when the world political horizon was again bright with hope. The General Assembly was meeting in an atmosphere of tranquillity under the leadership of a distinguished statesman, General Romulo, who could be described as the embodiment of the spirit of human kindness. 161. The task before the Assembly was not easy, nothing was more arduous than the effort to reconcile conflicting ideologies and interests. Good will, however, had power akin to faith, which moved mountains. 162.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)